Left-Communist Group of Vietnam

  One of the most fundamental concepts of Marxism is that of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The dictatorship of the proletariat is the political and economic power of the workers made manifest through organs of the class, especially through workers councils. It is the State wielded by the proletariat, to put it shortly. The dictatorship of the proletariat is crucial for the revolution and the transition to Communism. Unfortunately, it seems one is missing in the “Socialist” Republic of Vietnam. Rather than a congress of councils or soviets, as was typical in genuinely communist experiments, the highest organ of power in Vietnam is the bourgeois National Assembly. It is only a break from bourgeois democracy aesthetically, i.e. in that it has red flags everywhere and many “commissars”. Functionally, however, it is no different than the British Parliament or the American Congress. Makeup The only requirement to run for the National Assembly is age related. You have to be at leas...

  Our program talks of Ho Chi Minh Thought, the official ideology of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party (C.P.V.), as being a “bourgeois current”. In this work we hope to expand and elaborate on what we mean by showing its development and principles. Nationalism Although Ho Chi Minh Thought was formalized in 1991, it’s development can be traced much farther back. Back to the very start of the Vietnamese Revolution, actually.  Specifically after the proclamation of the “Democratic Republic of Vietnam”, a bourgeois republic as we have covered . A faux-unity between the existing bourgeoisie and proletariat was necessary for its survival, especially as it was embroiled in bourgeois revolution. For this, Ho Chi Minh and his Việt Minh set out the goal of crushing existing class unity, and replacing it with a national unity. The fledgling Democratic Republic would fail if the proletariat identified who their class enemies were.  With this objective in mind, Ho went about order...

  In the politically active sections of the Vietnamese diaspora, there are often calls for “democracy” to be instituted in Vietnam. From Phạm Đoan Trang to the Viet Tan, many organizations proclaim “democracy” to be of the utmost necessity. And while it is true that Vietnam is not a democratic country, the “solutions” proposed by the above mentioned figures would not change anything. The Viet Tan, also known as the The Reform Revolutionary Party of Vietnam, has a clear cut program and is popular with the bourgeoisie, so we shall use them as an example. Their program states they want a multi-party democracy. Specifically: “Viet Tan holds that any political party, or individual, whether or not in power, may still contribute to the betterment of the nation and people through the activities and avenues of civil society.” An interesting choice of policy. But it gets better (and by better we mean worse). On the subject of class struggle they say: “ Class struggle, the root cause of soci...

[this article has been reproduced from Battaglia Communista, the Italian affiliate to the Internationalist Communist Tendency]  Twenty-five years after the end of the Vietnam War, only a few things remain of the mythology the official and extra-parliamentary left have sung so many praises about. The bourgeois press now returns to these events, ironically recalling their old illusions, with the aim of attacking the intellectuals of that era. It comes up with a facile equation: the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc signifies the end of communism. Moreover, it points the finger at the last vestiges of “actually existing socialism”, such as China and Vietnam, who had the open their economy to the free market in order to survive. The game is up: capitalism could be the only system capable of offering democracy and wealth; all of the rest are only pure fantasy and dramatic deception. That there has been deception is undeniable, but it is a deception that has benefited the international bour...

  There is a common tendency on the Left of Capital to either critically or uncritically support “socialist” states. While the usual targets of this support usually include Cuba and China, many likewise support the “Socialist” Republic of Vietnam. However, just like the two aforementioned countries, there is nothing socialist about Vietnam. In fact, it is capitalist. And it’s capitalist and bourgeois characteristics were visible from the very onset of its revolution. From Marx, we know that the history of humanity is the history of class warfare, and that each society humans pass through is a class society. We go from primitive communism, to slave society, to feudalism, to capitalism, and now we must go to communism. Likewise, this was the case in Vietnam. However, uneven development meant that Vietnam was still in the feudal stage of society prior to colonization by the French. French colonization did eventually develop capitalism in Vietnam. The proletariat and bourgeoisie materi...

  [this piece was written during National Coming Out Day, thus the subject] Although conditions are improving, the LGBT+ community still faces many barriers in many countries. Even in the supposedly free bourgeois democracies, like the United States of America, queer people must overcome large legal and social obstacles to live their lives. Hate crimes are a part of these obstacles. Queer people are often harassed. Some are killed.[1] This holds especially true for transgender people, especially transgender youth. It’s estimated that around 40% of the homeless youth population in America is queer.[2] The situation in Vietnam is, likewise, tough for queer people, especially youth. In 2015, research done by the Institute of Social and Medical Studies, partnering with Save the Children, found that homeless queer people often faced horrific discrimination.[3] Regarding treatment by police, one trans person recounted: “If there are a group of homeless people and one of them is transgend...

edit: Our previous version was using an incorrect definition of "Councilism". This has since been updated. Our good comrades at the left-communist publication Internationalist Voice (linked below) have recently commented on our program. These comments and criticisms are of great help to both us, and the overall Communist Left, as they assist in furthering, developing and maturing our positions. With that said, we shall now address the concerns brought forth by our comrades. World Revolution Versus Revolution In One Country Our Program states that: “A new revolution by the matured Vietnamese proletariat is necessary to establish a Dictatorship of the Proletariat.” Unfortunately, there seems to have been a miscommunication. Internationalist Voice has interpreted this as us saying a new proletarian revolution is necessary in Vietnam. Fortunately, this is not what we mean. Rather a new revolution, which has not been seen before in Vietnam , is necessary to establish a Dictatorsh...

  The barbarity of the “Socialist” Republic of Vietnam has shown itself once again. Just yesterday, liberal activist Phạm Đoan Trang was arrested on charges of disseminating anti-state propaganda. The propaganda in question involved the several news outlets Trang contributed to, outlets that detailed activities of the ruling “Communist” Party. Trang also authored several books. While liberal democracy is in no way preferable to capitalist despotism, as both are the same sides of the capitalist coin, jailing activists is not neutral in it’s effects on the proletariat. In fact, it only strengthens the grip of the bourgeoisie around society. It should be clear to the proletariat of Vietnam that the State does not intend to relinquish power without struggle. What is needed right now are not bourgeois liberals with reformist slogans. What the working class needs most of all are independent institutions, like workers councils, to smash the current “Socialist” Republic and wage class war...

  One of the most baffling things about the Vietnamese diaspora is its near collective insistence upon using the flag of South Vietnam to represent itself. Why not use the flag of the actual government of Vietnam? Because that flag represents the “tyranny, oppression, and dictatorship” of the “communists” which many tried to escape from. Maybe it’s time the Người Việt hải ngoại cracked open a history textbook because that’s exactly what the flag of South Vietnam represents as well! You may often hear tales of South Vietnam being a “democracy”. Nothing could be further from the truth. Repression ran rampant under the several regimes (many military juntas) that reigned over the south. From suppression of religion to political killings, South Vietnam became a veritable slaughterhouse. It’s estimated that hundreds of Buddhists were killed or “disappeared” by the Diệm government alone. The leaders of the country weren’t even elected most of the time. Rather, they were picked by the CIA ...

  There is a popular myth among the Left that Vietnam hasn’t suffered as badly from Coronavirus because of socialist policies and measures. This is laughable for many reasons, the most glaring one being that Vietnam is a thoroughly capitalist state. The other being that the measures implemented by the “Socialist” Republic Vietnam are not socialist. The one exceptional thing about the precautions taken by Vietnam were that they were implemented early. The country was familiar with deadly diseases, having experienced many others in just the past two decades, so it acted quickly to mitigate the effects of this one. The fact that it was mysterious and only just began killing people in Wuhan likely influenced this. Social distancing and quarantines were thus implemented in hot spots faster than you could say “Ðộc lập, Tự do, Hạnh phúc”. While nice from the viewpoint of a capitalist, from a Marxist perspective this is not special. In fact, this strategy of strong measures implemented qui...

  General info The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Full Moon Festival and Têt Trung Thu, is a popular holiday throughout east and southeast Asia. This year it is celebrated on October 1st. Popular festivities include lanterns of various shapes, moon cakes, dragon dances, and sometimes worship of the God of Earth (frequencies of this activity can vary). The festival is geared towards children. Legends associated with the Festival There are several legends associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival. One of the more common ones is about H ằ ng Nga (known as 嫦娥 in Chinese), who consumed several mixtures which granted immortality. This overconsumption led to her floating up to the moon. Another tale is about a man named Cuội. Cuội had found a sacred tree and urinated on it, at which point the sacred tree began to float. Trying to bring it down, he clung to the tree, only for it to bring him to the moon.